ABSTRACT
Strengthening the Foundation for World Peace:
A Case for Democratizing the United Nations
By Jarvis J. Lagman, Esq.
The objective of this treatise is to show how the democratization of the United Nations would strengthen the foundation for world peace by increasing its effectiveness as a transnational governmental institution, promoting the harmonization of how different political systems value political legitimacy and facilitating the diffusion of democratic culture in a manner that minimizes conflict with existing political hegemonies. The achievement of a sustainable world peace requires the global harmonization of political systems to recognize each individual’s right to self-determination. Given that holding democratic elections in non-democratic member nations would accelerate the diffusion of democratic culture into such societies by exposing the people of such societies to democratic norms and political practices, the democratization of the United Nations would create a mechanism to harmonize the political systems of the world in a manner that promotes the development of democratic culture without directly infringing upon existing political hegemonies. In addition, the democratization of the United Nations would increase the United Nations’ effectiveness by broadening the scope of inputs into the governmental decision-making process and by making its political actors accountable to a worldwide electorate. Democratization of the United Nations would also increase the United Nations’ autonomy by shifting the source of its political legitimacy so that the consent to govern is obtained directly from the people. Further, the democratization of the United Nations would also provide opportunities to improve global data collection, increase accessibility to political power, promote democratic cultural diffusion, facilitate the distribution of humanitarian aid, solidify global cultural identity and enhance the relevance of the United Nations as an actor on the world stage.